Redakcja Choose TVSamsung Galaxy Z Trifold, the first commercial smartphone folding into three parts, officially ends its market journey in South Korea. As reported by the Korean service donga.com, sales will be halted on March 17 – just three months after the December premiere. Although each batch of the device sold out in a few minutes, the manufacturer decided to terminate the project in the domestic market, which sheds new light on the profitability of such complex constructions.
Showcase of Technology Instead of Mass Production
From the very beginning, the Galaxy Z Trifold was not treated as a product for the mass market. Samsung designed it as a "flagship showcase of capabilities," aimed at demonstrating the company's advantage over others in the foldable screen segment. The device, when folded, is the size of a standard smartphone (6.5 inches), but when fully opened, it offers a workspace with a diagonal of 10 inches. According to information coming from Korea, this model was sold in very small quantities – one-time batches on the manufacturer's side included about 3000 units. The interest was so great that on auction sites, prices for used copies reached amounts almost three times higher than the catalog prices. Despite this, Samsung did not decide to increase production.
The Cost of Components Killed the Project's Profitability
The main reason for the sudden end of sales is the rapidly rising prices of key components. The aforementioned Korean service indicates that drastic increases in the prices of DRAM and NAND memory as well as processors have made it unprofitable for Samsung to continue the production of the Trifold. With such a complex design, the margin was minimal, and further sales could generate losses instead of profits.
Samsung achieved its marketing goal – the world saw that their triple-folding screen works and is ready for use. The company now prefers to focus resources on more profitable, standard models from the Fold and Flip series. Interestingly, in the American market, sales will continue until stocks run out; however, in Korea, March 17 is the final date. The Galaxy Z Trifold did not appear in official Polish distribution, and given the market situation, it will likely remain just a technological curiosity available to a few.
